Retailer presents scholarships to area students

Leavenworth Wal-Mart store manager Doug Portenier presented two area students Thursday, May 24, with $1,000 Sam Walton Community Scholarships for college-related expenses.

Bianca Manago, a Lansing High School graduate, and Ian Tracy, from Leavenworth High School, were this year's recipients.

Manago will attend Texas A&M University in College Station, Texas next year, where she plans to study Spanish, engineering or biology. She said she would also like to try out for the perennial Big 12 favorite the Aggies' women's soccer team.

"I'm just really looking forward to getting to Texas," Manago said. "This (scholarship) will really help with books and other expenses."

Tracy will attend the Massachusetts Institute of Technology in Cambridge, Mass., where he plans to study mechanical engineering and energy conservation.

Selections for the scholarships were based on financial need, academic progress and school and community involvement.